January 2009

January 27, 2009

This is an article I found interesting, it was written by Brenda Skidmore

Sleep investigators have discovered that, despite our apparent lack of
physical inactivity and mental alertness, our brain remains rather
active during sleep. Our brain seems to need, and use, this down-time
to mainly allow itself the rest it needs to be able to fully process
recent pieces of new information that it took in during our latest wake
cycle.

Sleeping helps us to strengthen our newly formed memories by copying,
filing, and saving only the new pieces of information that will,
eventually, become the most pertinent at solving our current dilemmas.
The brain also needs time to temporarily shut down, by blocking out the
constant influx of incoming stimuli. This helps make our most recently
formed memories easier to recall when we want, and makes them more resistant to long-term interference
by the flood of all other information that the brain will take in during its next, and subsequent, conscious alert phases.

If you find this news about sleep rather intriguing, then consider that
up until the mid-1950's most researchers, who were studying this field
of interest, thought that the brain remained, largely, inactive while
we slept. By 1994, our understanding of brain activity under went a
complete reversal in this way of thinking.

By 2006, sleep was shown to have more than a short-term performance
boost on memory recall. Sleep appears to embed the memory enough to
make it more resilient to interference from new information we take in
the next day.

Nature really did intend for the brain to take in all of its new
information during the light of day, and process it all during the
darkness.

In a culture of people, who seem to place a high value on intelligence,
creativeness, individuality, and excellence, you would think some of us
would learn how to use our time a little more wisely. Maybe, giving
yourself the gift of greatness is in little more than just 'sleeping on
it'.